erial guards, is tumultuously elected emperor.--VI. The Romans
hasten to retreat from Persia, and on their march are continually
attacked by the Persians and Saracens, whom, however, they repulse
with great loss.--VII. The emperor Jovian, being influenced by the
scarcity and distress with which his army is oppressed, makes a
necessary but disgraceful peace with Sapor; abandoning five
provinces, with the cities of Nisibis and Singara.--VIII. The
Romans having crossed the Tigris, after a very long and terrible
scarcity of provisions, which they endured with great courage, at
length reach Mesopotamia--Jovian arranges the affairs of Illyricum
and Gaul to the best of his power.--IX. Bineses, a noble Persian,
acting for Sapor, receives from Jovian the impregnable city of
Nisibis; the citizens are unwilling to quit their country, but are
compelled to migrate to Amida--Five provinces, with the city of
Singara, and sixteen fortresses, are, according to the terms of the
treaty, handed over to the Persian nobles.--X. Jovian, fearing a
revolution, marches with great speed through Syria, Cilicia,
Cappadocia, and Galatia, and at Ancyra enters on the consulship,
with his infant son Varronianus, and soon afterwards dies suddenly
at Dadastana.

I.

A.D. 363.

Sec. 1. The night was dark and starless, and passed by us as nights are
passed in times of difficulty and perplexity; no one out of fear daring
to sit down, or to close his eyes. But as soon as day broke, brilliant
breastplates surrounded with steel fringes, and glittering cuirasses,
were seen at a distance, and showed that the king's army was at hand.

2. The soldiers were roused at this sight, and hastened to engage,
since only a small stream separated them from the Persians, but were
checked by the emperor; a sharp skirmish did indeed take place between
our outposts and the Persians, close to the rampart of our camp, in
which Machamaeus, the captain of one of our squadrons was stricken down:
his brother Maurus, afterwards Duke of Phoenicia, flew to his support,
and slew the man who had killed Machamaeus, and crushed all who came in
his way, till he himself was wounded in the shoulder by a javelin; but
he still was able by great exertions to bring off his brother, who was
now pale with approaching death.

3. Both sides were nearly exhausted with the intolerable violence of the
h